INTERVIEWER:   Bob, where did you get into the military, when did you get into the military and why did you get into the military?

BRADICICH:   Well I got into the military in Brooklyn, New York.  I lived there and at that time everybody wanted to get into the military after the war started.  I was too young and I was not eligible.  When I became eligible, I wanted to join the Army right away, but my father said no.  He had one son in the Army and he didn't want the other one in.  I just told him, “Dad, it’s just a matter of time and I’ll be in”, but he wanted me to wait.

So I was drafted into the Army March 1943.  From there, I went down to Camp Blanding, which is in Florida.  I did my basic training there.  Basic training, I happened to do it in the summertime and it was very hot.  I survived as you can see and after the basic training the division, it was the 66th division, we split up and I was sent to the 28th division, which is a Pennsylvania National Guard outfit.

INTERVIEWER:   That’s the Keystone division, isn’t it?

BRADICICH:   That’s the Keystone division, yes sir.

INTERVIEWER:   As a matter of fact, you’re wearing the patch on your shirt, aren’t you?

BRADICICH:   Yes, I got this when I went back to the reunions, they gave it to us.  From there, we did a few more maneuvers, I had furlough and we come back.  I loaded on a boat and we went over to England.

INTERVIEWER:   On the boat, this is a troop ship?

BRADICICH:   I called it a banana boat.  For people out there who know about it, it’s a converted transport ship that took bananas and fruits from South America up to New York or to the west coast and they converted it to an Army transport.  We went over on that ship.

INTERVIEWER:   Do you remember going up on the gangplank and getting on board the ship?

BRADICICH:   Yes sir.  When we got to Boston, we debarked from the train.  We had a full pack and I mean a full pack with the horseshoe around the top and everything else.  It must have weighed more than I did because I was very thin.  We got there.  The Red Cross was there.  They gave us coffee and donuts.  One of the women there who gave me a donut, she said, “What are you doing here” because I looked so young and she didn't think I was even 18 or old enough to be in the Army.

I just wanted to do my job because I wanted to get into the Army.  The first thing we think of when they started the war, everybody wanted to get into the Army.

INTERVIEWER:   Did you go on board the ship carrying a weapon?

BRADICICH:   Yes I did.

INTERVIEWER:   So you got on and you went down and down and down and you finally got a bunk?

BRADICICH:   Yes, we got on a ship, which was equipped, we had double loading.  What they mean by double loading is that half of the men are downstairs in the bunks for 12 hours and then they come up and people on the deck go down and take those bunks and they sleep for another 12 hours.  This went on for about two days.  Then everybody was up on top deck.  You couldn't walk downstairs.

One time we passed through a storm.  This storm gave 50-foot waves and I am not exaggerating.  I stood on the deck and I looked up at the wave and I could feel the boat roll over and go up to the top of the wave.  As it got up to the top of the wave, it pitched over and I looked down, way down 50 feet to water and it slid down the other side.  95% of the men were seasick, but I managed to eat something.

I went down to the mess hall and it certainly was a mess.  The people would try to eat.  They’d take their tray and they’d put it on the thing and then the ship tips and they get sick and they leave the food there and it just rolls off the table and crashes on the floor.  So it really was a mess hall.  I am happy to say I did not get seasick.

Then it quieted down and we were getting close to England.  We heard some firing and we looked at it and it was the Navy.  They had the machine guns and they were firing at mines that were floating in the water.  They wanted to explode them so we wouldn't hit cause if a mine hit the ship, we could not get off.  We were down five levels and it was jammed. 

So luckily as you say, I got over there and we disembarked near Southampton.  We got on to a train and we headed for South Wales.  It was really some crossing.

INTERVIEWER:   Was there anybody there to welcome you when you got to England?

BRADICICH:   Not that much because as soon as we got off the ship, we got onto the trains and the trains took us Pembroke Dock.  We got there at night.  The people there must have thought they were getting invaded cause we went to the barracks there.

INTERVIEWER:   Was it a blackout?

BRADICICH:   There was always a blackout, yes.  Not much light.  We were there for about six months in training back and forth, different things.  We took amphibious maneuvers and learning all about the invasion, which we knew was coming and which we knew we were going to be part of.

INTERVIEWER:   What outfit are you in now?

BRADICICH:   At this time, I’m with the 28th.  I started, I joined the 28th at Camp Miles Standish in the United States, went over with them and I actually came back with them.

INTERVIEWER:   What regiment were you in?

BRADICICH:   I was with the 110th regiment, 2nd battalion, company E, 2nd squad.  You can’t much lower.

INTERVIEWER:   But anybody that called it Easy Company really didn't understand what they were talking about.

BRADICICH:   I was in E-Company, no resemblance to the Easy Company in the Band of Brothers.  We were over there taking amphibious maneuvers.  The people were very nice to us.  We had our dances and things going on.  We had one dance where we invited the British soldiers to come in and dance.  So the Americans and the British were there in a dance hall and the girls from the town would come in and we were dancing with them.

One thing led to another, I’m not quite sure how it started, but a fight started.  They played the national anthems, both the United States and the British and one British said, “Well Americans come over here, you’re overpaid, you’re oversexed and you’re over here.”  So the MP’s came and broke up the fight. 

It continued, I was surprised, but the next time we didn't ask the British to come dance.  We were dancing with the British women and the British take offense to that a little bit, which I would too if I was in the other shoe.

INTERVIEWER:   Bob, what would be the average day’s activity, military activity when you were there?  What time did you get up?  Were you living under canvas or were you in a barracks?

BRADICICH:   We were in barracks.  For the mattress, they gave us a piece, a big bag like, a canvas bag and we had to go out there and fill it with straw.  Then we took the straw and we put it in the bed.  The sergeant came around and if the bed was too high, he ripped it up and you had to take some straw out.  It had to conform with specifications.

That lasted for about a month and then you had to refill it again.  It gets flat from sleeping on it.  We got up usually at about 5:00, sometimes 6:00 depending on what we were going to do for the day.  A lot of times we got up at 5:00, stand reveille, you figure you’re going to go to breakfast, but you don’t.  You go out and take a five-mile hike.  Then you come back and you have breakfast.

Other times, they took us, one time they took us in trucks to Fishgarten.  They took us off and the field kitchen was there.  This is great so we went and had our pancakes and had our sausages and all the stuff that we had, mess kits.  We sat on the lawn eating it.  After we get done, we had to rinse out the mess kits and you always want to get in there first because if you don’t, instead of cleaning it in clean, hot water, you’re cleaning it in cold greasy water.  Everybody tried to get done quickly and get it done.

Then we went for the trucks.  The trucks weren’t there any longer.  So then it dawned on us that we had to walk back to the barracks.  We were 30 miles away.

INTERVIEWER:   With a pack?

BRADICICH:   Not a full pack, but with a pack.

INTERVIEWER:   Rifle?

BRADICICH:   Oh yes, the rifle is always with you.  You never leave that rifle.

INTERVIEWER:   Helmet?

BRADICICH:   Helmet, rifle, a pack.  A pack was a shelter half, a blanket and your food and whatever else you had.

INTERVIEWER:   Canteen?

BRADICICH:   Canteen was on your hip.

INTERVIEWER:   So not only your weight, you’re probably carrying what?  Maybe 20 more pounds?

BRADICICH:   Oh yes.

INTERVIEWER:   Well the rifle would be at least 10 lbs.

BRADICICH:   The rifle was about 9-1/2 pounds, something like that. 

INTERVIEWER:   So after this breakfast, you’ve got a 30-mile hike.

BRADICICH:   I’ve got a 30-mile hike.

INTERVIEWER:   Was it a forced march?

BRADICICH:   No, it was regular march.  You march about 3 miles an hour, that’s how I figured it was 30 miles.  You take a 10-minute break every hour.  Some of these towns that we went through, they were small towns and I could see the people.  They were all coming in and closing the windows.  They didn't know whether they were getting invaded.  They didn't know if we were Germans or Americans because you must remember, they did not have television in those days.  Television was only with the very rich people.  When they knew we were Americans, they came out and cheered us on.

We got back to the camp, the sergeants get us lined up, all ready, so when we passed the generals, we looked like an army, not like somebody dragging our feet.  When I got back there, I understood there was a dance in town, not in town, but in the dancehall.  I quickly showered and shaved and I went to the dance.  I can say yes, I was in good shape, not like now.

INTERVIEWER:   How old were you then?

BRADICICH:   I was 18, 19 then because I was 18 in January ’43 and I was over there in ’44 so I was just about 18-19.  That’s what we were doing.  So that went on.  We went down to Swansea, which is in the lower part of Wales, and we took amphibious maneuvers.  This time the Navy when they were driving those LCI’s to the landing to the beach, they knew where the sandbars were so they avoided them.

They brought us up on the beach.  When the front went down, we went off and we knew we were all right.  In regular combat, they don’t know where the sandbars are and if you hit a sandbar and that thing comes down, you go off, you don’t stay on the ship.  If it’s over your head with all the stuff you have, you’re going to go down and you’re not going to come up.  They didn't want any casualties on maneuvers.

So we were there, training, waiting for D-Day, waiting for the day that we were going to invade.  We thought it was never going to come.

INTERVIEWER:   I understand that the weather in England most of the time is wet and cold.  Well here it is wintertime going onto springtime in Wales.  Was it wet and cold?

BRADICICH:   It was wet and cold, but it wasn’t as cold, that winter for some reason, it wasn’t that cold.  Yes it was cold, but when you’re walking hour after hour, you get warm.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was, that it was going to be anyhow.  So we were there.  Then on June 5th I guess it was, we were assembled outside and we were going on a hike.  We went on a 20-mile hike.  When we finished our 20-mile hike, we pitched our tents, our little shelter halves and we crawled into there and were going to sleep there and march back in the morning.

INTERVIEWER:   I’m sorry, I know what you said and what you meant, but years from now people may not, why is it called a shelter half?

BRADICICH:   Okay, good question. Because it’s a buddy system.  I have one shelter half and a buddy that’s going to be with me, he has the other shelter half.  We take them and we put mine on this side and his on that side and we snap them together and then we go into it at the bottom.

INTERVIEWER:   And then you have a pup tent?

BRADICICH:   Then we have a pup tent, he’s on one half and I’m on the other half.  That’s why they call them shelter halves because you only have half.  Well we no sooner got into the shelter half, just about getting to sleep, when the order comes to fall out.  So we had to go out and we lined up.  They said we were marching back to Pembroke Dock because the invasion had started.  Now this was June 5th so therefore this was the nighttime, which was June 6th at about 11:00 at night.  They got us back out and said we were going to invade.

INTERVIEWER:   Pitch black?

BRADICICH:   Oh, it was very black, yes.  I was still in Wales now.  They wanted us to march back and they told us the invasion was on.  So we started to march back to Pembroke Dock because we figured hey, the invasion started, we’re probably going in next.  As we got about 3 or 4 miles back, trucks came and that’s the first time we ever were on a hike that was interrupted and they told us they were going to ride us back to camp.

So they got us on trucks and we went back to camp and we were ready to go out for the invasion.  It didn't come.  The invasion came, but we weren’t ready to go.  Next day comes, nothing.  Another week goes by, nothing.  Nothing happens so we are not in the initial invasion.

INTERVIEWER:   How’s the morale in your outfit?

BRADICICH:   The morale was very high considering because we all wanted to go and get this thing over with.  We were very gung-ho.  The guys there were sharpening their bayonets.  If you needed anything, you just put in a requisition and you got it.  We were fully supplied.  On about D plus 21, which is 21 days after the landing, the initial landing, we got a call, come on out, fall out.  There was so much truck and jeep activity, I never saw so much so I knew this is it. 

So we got into our trucks and yes we headed for Southampton.  Well, the morale was really still high that we were going in, but a lot of people were still apprehensive.  Yes, we wanted to go, but boy now this was the real thing.  So we got over there.  We got into the boats.  It was a medium size ship and none of us were assigned bunks or anything so we knew that it wasn’t going to be long before we got over there.

So we stayed there that night and I thought now what’s the matter.  So we waited there and early in the morning, the ship left the dock.  We were heading for France. 

INTERVIEWER:   Did you ever think that you might never see England or the United States again?

BRADICICH:   That happened twice to me.  Once when I left the United States, we looked back from the liberty ship and we saw the Boston skyline and a lot of people, we all looked at each other and said, I wonder if we’re ever going to see this sight again.  Yes, there was a lot of apprehension as far as that was concerned. 

When we got on the ship to England, the same thing.  I wonder if we’re ever going to come back and see England again.  We got over there.  We pulled up, I guess it was near the beach.  We were outside the beach and we stopped and small LCI’s, which I know because we trained with them, came alongside the boat and we got into those boats and storm the beach and get off the beach as quick as we could.

Well I talked to George, my buddy that was on the ship with me, “George, how are we going to get down to those boats?”  He said, “Well we’re going to put a rope net down the thing, the side of the ship.”  I said, “George, I can’t climb down there.  I got claustrophobia or something that I’m afraid of heights.”  He said, “Bob, they’re going to get you down there one way or another.”  I told him I just thought I couldn’t make it and he said that I could.

So George and Jim Cole, both of them helped me over the side.  Jim Cole got over the side once and then George helped me get over the side.  He said, “Don’t look down and just go slowly hand over hand”.  We had a pack on, we had our rifle on and our helmet and gear and everything.

INTERVIEWER:   You’re now carrying live ammunition too.

BRADICICH:   I’m carrying live ammunition and we also have two things that had ten clips in it hanging over my shoulder.  Well I was going down slowly and I did look and I froze.  They told me to keep going.  I looked down at that boat and I said to myself, if I fall and I land in that boat, I’ll probably break every bone in my body and if I fall and I miss the boat, I’ll go right down under the water with all this equipment on.  So I tried not to think of that and I went down hand over hand.  I made it.

INTERVIEWER:   Were there swells?  Was the small boat going up and down?

BRADICICH:   Oh yes.  The men that were in the boat held the rope net, the mesh, while the guys were climbing down.  As they got near, they helped them into the boat.  So we had a platoon of men in the boat, which is approximately 30 guys.  That pulled away from the boat and another one pulled in and got another 30 men.  We circled around in a circle until all the boats were full.

Then the order came and all the boats headed for the beach.  They said we had to get off the beach.  As soon as we hit the ramp, get off because they might be shelling the beaches yet.  We don’t want to get anything because the 29th went in ahead of us and they pushed the Germans back further.  So it wasn’t that bad.

Well the ramp came down and I was hoping it wasn’t a sandbar.  We ran off and I went into water waist deep, just above my waist.  I was thankful.  So we got onto the shore and we ran off.  We did not get any shelling.  We got up on the bank and got the company together, the platoon together.  When everything was there, we started to march towards Ste. Lo. 

We started to march to Ste. Lo.  As we marched, it wasn’t too long before we got to Ste. Lo.  Ste. Lo is a large city.  When I got there, there was not one building left standing.  It was just a bunch of ruins.  We marched through the town and then we got about two-thirds through the town and everything started to get messy because the engineers weren’t up that close to clean it yet, to clean up the streets to push the stuff aside.

So we had to climb over some debris and that’s when I saw my first dead German.  He was there in the middle of the road.  His feet were up and he was like this here, he was charred.  He was burnt to a crisp.  All you could see was his face was black, a skeleton like form.  He looked like he was in a jeep or a truck or something that was blown up.  He was still there.

Well right then I thought I’m ready to go home, but naturally we didn't.  We continued on through the rubble.  This was in the beginning of July.  Believe me there were some women and people living in that rubble.  Well this woman came out and offered me a glass of water, at least it was clear liquid and I thought it was a nice glass of water on a hot day.

So I took the water and I took two big gulps.  I found out that it was cognac.  Well I couldn't talk for about five minutes after that.  It was burning my throat, but it was good (laughter).  So we continued on and as we’re getting closer to the front line now, we’re leaving the city.  You can hear the artillery in front of us.  We were going to relieve the 29th division who was in there since D-Day. 

As we were walking down there, you could smell the shells and everything.  One thing I noticed that there were no birds at all flying around.  It just seemed very still and quiet.  The birds all left.  We saw cows in the field.  They were dead and they were all swollen up.  We knew we were getting closer to the front.  As we got there, we went in and we saw the guys and we took over their foxholes and we said okay, where are the Germans.  They told us where the German positions were and he asked us if we were ever in combat before.  We told them no, that this was our first baptism of fire.

He said he was getting out of there and good luck to us, but he wished us well and he took off.  Now we’re in the foxhole that night.  The sergeant came around and said, “All right, be alert.  We have our guards that are out to make sure we don’t get any infiltration by the Germans.  Get as much sleep as you can.”  He must be kidding.  First it’s night on the front line and he’s telling us to get some sleep.  No.

So we didn't get much sleep at all.  There were a few shells coming over.  We all had our own cigarettes and were smoking most of the night.  Finally in the morning, just before daybreak, we hear tanks coming.  So we were all on the alert.  They were coming from behind us.  This was the second armored division.

INTERVIEWER:   Bob, as I remember nothing in the world sounds like a tank.

BRADICICH:   You’ll never hear anything like a tank.

INTERVIEWER:   That’s right, there’s a clank, there’s a rattle, there’s a squeak.

BRADICICH:   Eeriest thing you’ll ever hear.

INTERVIEWER:   It’s the only sound in the world like that. 

BRADICICH:   We heard these things coming up.  It was the 2nd Army division.  We were teaming up with the 2nd Army division to do a spearhead and break out of this beachhead.  Well they came up, a nice bunch of guys and the tanks went forward.  We followed the tanks right close by.  Now it’s getting light.  The tanks have a fluorescent banner that they put on the back of the tank and this banner is there so that if our planes came over and see these tanks, they see that fluorescent strip and they know it’s our tanks so they know where our front lines are.

Now as we got in there our first objective was Pershing, France.  We got up there and we got down behind some bushes and we looked out and that’s when I saw my first German.  Well he was hiding behind a bush and he wasn’t looking at me so I raised my rifle up and I got him in my sights and I’m ready to pull that trigger, get my first German, but I did something that you shouldn’t do. I looked beyond my sight to see who I was shooting.

It was a young kid.  He was no older than I was.  Well needless to say, I could not pull the trigger.  I sank down onto the road and I just said to myself, what in the hell am I doing in the infantry if I can’t pull the trigger.  At that time then, the sergeant came over and said, “C’Mon Brandy, get off your butt and we’ve got to go after these Germans.”  Well needless to say, I got off my butt and went after the Germans. 

This time I shoot and I didn't look at who I was shooting at.  All I saw was a gray uniform and at the beginning I didn't want to shoot and go near to find out if he was dead or not.  I tried to shoot over on the side and go a different way.  I was still just a kid and it was my first combat and we weren’t used to this killing business.  We got over that after a while though when you’re in combat more than a few days.

They say if you’re in combat and you last a week, your chances of survival increase greatly because you become familiar with what to do and how to do it.  I’d like to take a break.

Well this went on and we followed the Germans and the 2nd Army was there with us.  As we regrouped together again, we got some firing from our left flank so my squad got the assignment to go over there and see what it was.  Well as we got over there, they were giving us rifle fire and machine gun fire.  We returned the fire and trying to get them out of the way when we got a call from a tank in the 2nd Army.

The tank came over from the 2nd Army and by God, they did a job.  They shot the cannon 75mm right into the German line and the machine guns.  Then we all got up and attacked the German positions.  Well by the time we got to the German positions because we had the tank that was helping us, they surrendered.  Those that didn't surrender were running away, running back.  All was left were the ones that were surrendering and the Germans that were wounded or dead.

So we rounded them up and sent them back with two guys to take them back to division headquarters.  Then we continued on and we met pockets of little resistance and we were just fighting them as we went along.

INTERVIEWER:   Pockets of maybe 3 to 10 Germans.

BRADICICH:   Sometimes that big, sometimes it’s more.  It could be a platoon or something that’s dug in.  That’s what happened when we continued on.  Our first objective was Pershing, France.  We got near Pershing and everything was firing at us, artillery, machine guns and mortars.  They had an outpost that we called Hill 210 and they were looking right down at us and they were firing at us.

The 112th regiment, which is part of our 28th, they went to Hill 210 to dislodge the Germans because they were seeing every movement that was made.  Well we finally, they finally dislodged them and we went in.  I remember walking into the town and as we got to the church, I remember that church, a German tank came down the street on the other way. 

We were coming down this way and the Germans were coming down this way with the German tank.  When we saw the German tanks, we turned around and we went into the buildings to hide.  The German tank came around and swung its 88 around and started firing.  Well we were in the building now and returned the fire.  We were getting the infantry.  Naturally we had a bazooka, but the bazooka couldn't get into position to get them at this time.

So we called for artillery support.  Artillery support came over and they fired into the town and it made the tank withdraw.  Then we had the infantry to take care of and we fired on them.  We went from building to building.  Fighting in the town is one of the worst things that the infantry hates because you never know what’s behind the next door or what’s downstairs.

A lot of times they might be down in the cellar or something, machine guns.  Sometimes you take a grenade and you throw it down into the room or into the basement before you go down.  A lot of times there may be civilians down there too.  You don’t know.  We finally took the town of Pershing.  We stopped and we started to regroup and I asked where was Joe Faye, where was Jim Cole and the sergeant told me, Joe Faye got it before we were coming into Pershing.  A few of the other guys didn't make it.

A lot of guys, you know, we were having a war.  We went to the billets, opened our K-rations and started to eat.  K-rations are a can with a piece of cheese in it.  You get two biscuits and a bar of chocolate and four cigarettes.  I remember I took the chocolate out and I scraped it with my bayonet into my canteen cup.

So I had a lot of chocolate in there.  Then I went out into the field and I milked a cow and put the milk into the canteen.  I came back with the thing, in the burned out building, we start a little fire.  I put it over there and had my chocolate milk.  We did different things like that.

Well the next day, we start off again and we go after the Germans.  Now we broke the German resistance there and I’m not going to continue to tell you every battle that we were in because I don’t think we have enough time here because we were in battles up until Paris.  We did go into a few battles that we did not win at the first time.  We had to come back.

One that I want to mention, one near Quinton, France, we were attacking the Germans and the Germans were dug in.  We went into the approach march, we got after them and they returned fire.  A tank came down, this is in the hedgerow, let me say that.  Now a hedgerow is four feet of dirt around a field.  On top of that dirt is about 3 or 4 feet of hedges and these were hedgerows and they were around each field.  This is where they put the cows to graze and there’s an opening in each one where the cows could go from one field to another.

We were attacking there and marching down the road rather and a German tank came down a small dirt road just about the size of the tank.  This tank was firing at us and we dispersed over to the side.  We brought up some bazookas and we called for the anti-tank guns to come up.  This guy next to me, he had the bazooka and he had a shot.  So the guy that was with him put the bazooka into the chamber, fixed the wire around there and said it was all right.

He fired at the tank and he missed.  The Germans knowing that happened, turned 88 around and saw where the bazooka came from and fired their 88.  Their 88 went right into the hedgerow.  It blew the hedgerow apart, it killed the bazooka guy.  I was next to him and it blew me back about 10 feet on my back.  I don’t know why, it was the good Lord above, but I was not wounded.  I got up, I was deaf, I was shaken, but I managed to get back up by the hedgerows.

By this time, we were getting the order to fall back.  Some of our guys were wounded.  One guy was wounded, he was in the road and the tank was coming down the road.  There’s only room for a tank.  We had the orders to pull back.  So we managed to pull back and we couldn't get him.  We got as many as we could. 

The tank was coming down there and he was yelling the tank to stop because he was wounded and he was right in the path of the tank.  The tank was going to crush him.  My buddy took his rifle and shot him and the tank came down and ran over him, but he was dead at the time.  I just patted my buddy on the back and we pulled back. 

By this time, we all were pretty annoyed, pretty mad.  We set up a counterattack and we counterattacked and we stopped the Germans there.  Then all of a sudden for some reason, I don’t know why, the Germans pulled back.  The tank pulled back and the Germans pulled back and I guess we got them out. 

We were just sitting on the side of the road now smoking and waiting for the next order and they started to shell us.  Well now I know why they pulled back – because they had that crossroad and zeroed in and they pulled back and let us have it.  I never have seen a shelling as much as that. 

I jumped into a foxhole and I climbed onto somebody, I don’t know who he was.  I don’t know if he was dead or alive, but I wanted to get down below the ground.  As we were there, the shells came down like rain.  An artillery shell you can hear coming in.  A mortar shell you don’t hear until it lands.  I’m hoping and praying that no artillery shell or mortar would land in my foxhole cause I know what it’s like when a shell lands in the foxhole and you are in there.

Well with that artillery, a lot of guys were yelling for medics.  The medics came up and tried to do the best that they could.  We went into the attack again.  We routed the Germans out again.  As we were passing over the hedgerows and the hills, we were just climbing over dead Germans and dead GI’s. 

We got to a tank, I assume it was that one tank and a German body was hanging out of it, all bloody.  It looked like we got the tank.  They tried to climb out, but the GI’s were shooting them.  We came back; we were not taking prisoners because we were pretty mad at what happened.  So we were taken off line and another company went into our spot. 

Well we go back into combat.  We were in approach march again, marching, marching.  The Germans looked like they were getting defeated and they were pulling back as fast as we were marching on.  We went into the outskirts of Paris and were held up. 

Paris was declared a free city.  In other words, nobody was to bomb it.  So we went into Paris.  We went into the park right near the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  We stayed there for a while and we got the orders that General Eisenhower is allowing the French militia to clear Paris of Germans.  We were to do nothing to help them or to fire on them.  We were to mind our own business until we got the order to go ahead.

These Frenchmen were pretty mad.  That’s where I saw them actually take a German out of a house and beat him to death.  After the Germans were pushing away, they took the women out, sat them down in a chair and cut their hair off.  Those were the women that were fraternizing with the Germans.  That was going on almost all day.  The town was then cleared of all Germans.

We got in and we were going to march down Paris.  We got in there and we got together.  We marched 24 abreast.  That’s 24 guys abreast, and we marched down the Champs Elysees right near the Arc de Triomphe.  It was quite a thing.  The Frenchmen were out there.  They were all cheering and crying and everything else.  They got their city back.

Well as we marched down there, we got to the Arc de Triomphe and we marched around it because nobody was going to march through the Arc de Triomphe as long as there were Germans on French soil.  I felt like breaking ranks and running through, but I would have gotten court-martialed.  But then, who cares.  But I didn't do it, I was young and I didn't do it.

INTERVIEWER:   Bob, a column of men, 24 abreast.  That’s really a feat to keep in cadence.

BRADICICH:   Oh yes.  Well we kept in cadence as best we could, but we did it.  Also while we were marching, when we first started, a sniper shot my buddy, George _____.  They shot him in the arm and the French dispersed, we dispersed.  They went after him and they got the German.  My buddy was taken to the hospital.  He was fine. 

INTERVIEWER:   Was this during the parade?

BRADICICH:   At the beginning of the parade, yes.

INTERVIEWER:   You’re forming up.

BRADICICH:   Yes, then we got back there and we formed up again and we started marching down there.  The jeeps and trucks, some of them were in front of us and some were in back of us.  We marched down there.  We marched around the Arc de Triomphe and we kept on going.  We went to our own companies, our own platoons, and we went right back into combat.

INTERVIEWER:   There were other divisions beside the Keystone division, weren’t there?

BRADICICH:   Not marching down the Arc de Triomphe.

INTERVIEWER:   You were the only one?

BRADICICH:   We were the only one that I know of.

INTERVIEWER:   So you were a party to that very, very famous picture?

BRADICICH:   I was in that very, very famous picture.  I could see the sergeant and I think I was five back from him.  Now I was in the middle of the 24 abreast.  The ones at the end, they were getting all the hugs and kisses from the French women.  I was in the middle so I did not get that opportunity.

It was a big celebration except for George, but George joined us the next day.  They patched him up and they sent him back.  Now we’re through Paris.  So we come out of Paris and we’re in combat again, but it’s small fighting.  It’s skirmishes.  We’d get a little resistance and we’d go and get them out.

There is one thing, which I did not say which I’d like to say now.  Before we went into Paris, we were down in the south and the British were up in the north.  We formed a pincer movement to cut off the German army.  We were marching toward Paris and we were told we were going to make a left hand turn and we went over the hills.  The British did the same thing coming from the north.  We were going to meet up with them.

Well we got close to each other and we saw the Germans all running back toward Germany.  We had tanks and we stopped them.  That was a slaughter because they were trying to get out and regroup and we couldn't let them.  We finally, I don’t know how many Germans were killed trying to get out, but we finally met up with the British and we stopped them.  That German army that was protecting Normandy surrendered.  Thousands and thousands of Germans surrendered.  Sorry I skipped that.

So all right, now we’re on the other side of Paris and we’re heading towards Germany and there were just little pockets of resistance.  We kept going, we couldn't find Germans.  We kept walking, we couldn't find the Germans.  We walked 17, 20, 25 miles every day trying to get them.  It started to take a toll.

The guys, their feet were starting to get blisters on them.  We just couldn't find any Germans so they brought up trucks.  They put us in trucks and we went after Germans in trucks.  We said, well this is one hell of a way to fight a war.  Here we are in trucks going up after the enemy.  Better than walking, the infantry always walks.

Well we were riding for about 45 minutes.  We get into the town of San Quentin.  We just about get into the outskirts of the town, a small town, we get into the outskirts of the town and it started to rain artillery shells and mortars.  We ran into an ambush.  They got us from both sides and they got us in trucks.

The guys that were in trucks, I was in a truck but I got out.  Some of the guys didn't get out right away and if a mortar landed in a truck, it just destroyed the trucks.  We got onto the side of the road into a little gully there and we returned the fire.  We called for artillery.  They said artillery was back too far, they were moving up so we couldn't get artillery.

The cannon company, they were way back too.  We couldn't get the cannon company so we had one bazooka, all right.  He came up and there were no tanks there, but we knew they were going to be.  We could feel it.  Then we were firing and this is where we were talking before and we hear the clanging of a tank.  It is the most awesome sound you want to hear.

It came around the edge of the bushes and the guy with the bazooka got ready and fired.  Well the bazooka shell hit the tank and bounced off and then it exploded.  They had a Mach 5 tank, a big German tiger tank with a special bomber on it.  The shells just bounce off of it.  So it came down the road and remember, I was in the gully.  It was firing a machine gun into the gully.

I really thought this was it for me because there was nothing we had that could stop the tank.  As it was coming down, the guy with the bazooka put another shell in it and he fired and it landed and took the tank out.  It didn't dislodge the tank, it just disrupted the wheels and the treads that were on the tank and the tank could not go any further.  It kept firing and we kept firing at him. 

Then I guess they started loading another bazooka or something.  Then they stopped firing and they started to come out with their hands up.  But they didn't surrender, well they tried to surrender, but they were shot.  Then we had the infantry behind and we fired on that and we attacked that with our rifles and we went after them.  We finally dislodged them.  We lost a lot of men this time because of the ambush.

As we were bringing the men back, I took one of the fellas that was in a truck that had a direct hit.  His uniform was bloody and I was helping him back to the aide station.  We had the shirts on and our cuffs were buttoned.  So he asked me, “How is my arm?  I can’t feel it”.  So I looked over there and if he didn't have his cuff buttoned, the arm would have been off.  It was just hanging on.  But I got him back to the aide station and I assume he lost his arm.

INTERVIEWER:   I think we’re going to tour Germany now.

BRADICICH:   But before we get to Germany, we have to go through Belgium and Luxemburg.  They are two small countries and the nicest people you ever want to meet.

We’re marching and marching and we get into, we’re sent into what they call the Huertgen Forest.  I don’t know if anybody has heard of that, but it’s the worst place man could ever conceive.  You go in there, it was below 0, the temperature.  It was forest; the trees very thick.

INTERVIEWER:   This is November or December 1944.

BRADICICH:   This is November of ’44, about the middle of November.  On the ground is pine straw very thick.  Pine straw keeps the ground warm so therefore it’s cold and wet.  Now when you walk in the pine straw, you sink down and your feet get wet and your shoes get wet.  Then when you bring them out of that mush in subfreezing weather, ice forms on your shoes.  You get cold.

The roads, they must have had at least six inches of mud from all the traffic.  We could not get our tanks up because of the mud especially along the _____ trail.  Well we’re in there and we were firing on the Germans.  I was just below Bastenbach and Schmitt.  Some of you people out there might have heard of it from your fathers or great-grandfathers.

As we go against the Germans, they’re hiding behind trees and they have their tanks up there because they are on high ground.  They are firing down at us.  Now we are encountering a tree burst.  What is a tree burst?  A tree burst, a shell comes over and it hits the top of the tree.  Now as it hits the top of the tree, the top of the tree falls off, it is broken off and falls down and it could fall on you.

When you’re on level ground, you get into a foxhole and if a mortar shell hits here, the shell goes sideways and goes over the foxhole.  When you get a tree burst, the shrapnel did not go sideways, it comes down on you.  So if you’re in a foxhole, it can get you very easily. 

That’s where the saying comes in and maybe some of you old-timers might remember this.  If you’re in a forest and you’re fighting the Germans, hug a tree.  And that means if the Germans fire shells and it hits the tree, the shrapnel is coming down straight and if you hug a tree, your chances of getting shrapnel are slim because you don’t have your whole body exposed.  It does work, but it’s hard to do.

All right, we were firing on the Germans and trying to dislodge them from their positions and this went on for two or three weeks.  Casualties were heavy.  The high command had us advance on the enemy, sometimes fixed bayonets and sometimes not.  We tried to dislodge them and we’d get a few yards or maybe 100 yards, then the tank would come and they’d fire on us and we’d have to pull back.

INTERVIEWER:   So there was really heavy resistance?

BRADICICH:   Extremely heavy resistance because they could bring the tanks up on high ground and we could not.  So all we had was our own infantry. 

INTERVIEWER:   Where was the Air Force?

BRADICICH:   The Air Force was nonexistent because it was foggy and they couldn't fire in the forest because they couldn't see through the forest.  Also our artillery could not fire they said because of the trajectory of the shell would hit the top of the trees over us before it would hit the Germans.  So that was out.  The only thing we had if we could find a clearing is our mortars and fire them.  But we had to make sure that it did not hit the trees above us.

So we were there for approximately three weeks seesawing back and forth.  The dead GI’s there, our buddies, were laying on the ground.  We could not take them back because the ambulance could not get up to take them.  The ambulance could not come up to pick up the bodies and take them back.  The wounded had to stay right there and they made a makeshift hospital to try to help.  They had to bring up enough morphine to help the GI’s.

This went on.  At the end, I remember this, we were ordered to charge the enemy again.  We fixed bayonets.  The colonel says no.  He sent back word, you cannot advance anymore because the men were just fatigued.  They had frost-bitten feet and they just could not function anymore in the cold. 

I remember one time before we charged, my buddy, we were all told to make sure our rifles were working and my buddy’s rifle was not working.  So I told him to put the rifle butt on the ground and I took the butt of my rifle and hit his breach to open that thing because it was frozen solid.  My two big toes became black, I was beginning to get frost-bitten feet myself. 

The colonel said that the guys that were there took their shoes off to try to get them warm, to massage them and their feet would swell up and they couldn't get their shoes back on.  So we wrapped them in burlap or whatever they could find.  The colonel was told through direct orders that he was to advance to charge.  He said he could not do it.

Well he was relieved of his command and the major general or somebody from higher up came down to look at the condition of the troops.  Well when he saw the condition of us, he says take this outfit off line.  So we all pulled back and another company came in.  We were back there only for a short time when we were relieved.  We were there for about three or four weeks.  In those three or four weeks, we lost 75% of our men.

Now this 75% are not the generals and the colonels and the officers.  They’re men.  Why I survived, I don’t know.  I guess it’s just one of those things.  Well they took us off line and they brought in an Australian outfit to take over for us.  They had those hats, which they wear on the side you know.  So they came in and we just told them good luck.

So we pulled back and they shipped us down to Luxemburg – Belgium border.

INTERVIEWER:   How did you get there, truck?

BRADICICH:   We finally marched out of the forest and we got trucks.  The trucks couldn't get into the forest, but we could march out.  The shipped us down there for what they call R&R, relaxation.  We get a lot of replacements and we finally get back up to division strength.  Well we had a 35-mile thing to cover, territory to cover and this was also the front line, but there was no fighting going on.

We were on the front line in E Company and we could see the Germans and they could see us, but we weren’t firing at each other.

INTERVIEWER:   Let me interrupt…

BRADICICH:   It was across the ______ River.  Go ahead.

INTERVIEWER:   You pull back.  You’re going to get fed.  You’re going to get new ammunition supplies, maybe weapon replacement.  But the human replacement…your outfit had been together and you knew each other and suddenly your strength is increased by these strangers.  How did that go?  How were they treated?

BRADICICH:   They were treated well, but you did not get to go and meet them or join in with them.  You did not want to make friends with them cause you left all your friends already.  Yes, we got along with them.  They’re replacements, repo depo.

INTERVIEWER:   I’m sorry, what’s a repo depo?

BRADICICH:   It’s a replacement depot where the soldiers from the States, if they’re not in an outfit, they go to the repo depo and then any division along the line that needs men, they send back the order that they need 50 soldiers.  Fifty guys are picked out and they go to that outfit. 

Now I will say that in the Huertgen Forest, I did receive the Purple Heart.  They sent me back to a field hospital and I was in the field hospital there.  The nurse was very nice to me because I still looked young.  She asked me if I wanted to stay back there a little longer.  I said, “Where would I go”.  She said she could send me back to the base hospital.  I said that if I went back to the base hospital, then when I’m okay, I go to repo depo.  I did not want that so I said no, that I would go back to my outfit.

INTERVIEWER:   It was an Army nurse?

BRADICICH:   It was an Army nurse.

INTERVIEWER:   I’ll be darned.

BRADICICH:   Oh yes.  The doctor gave me the okay and he handed me the Purple Heart.  You know, I’m going back up to the front.  What am I going to do with a Purple Heart in my hand, you know (laughter)?  But he gave it to me; I said thank you and went back to my own outfit.  That’s the one thing that’s good.  You can go back to your own outfit.

Well I went back to my own outfit and I put my Purple Heart in with my personal belongings and put that on my pack on my back.  Then we got into this quiet zone.  Remember 35 miles our division had to cover, but there was no fighting going on.  It was just for relaxation, get back up to strength, get ammunition and replacements.  There was no fighting going on.

Now being on a 35 mile stretch for the division and there was no fighting, you usually have one regiment, two regiments on the front line, one regiment in reserve.  Well the 35 miles, we did could not do it.  So we had all three regiments on line.  The same thing with the battalion.  All three battalions in the regiment were on line.  There was no fighting going on.  It was relaxation.

I was stationed in Clervaux.  I will say this.  When I came out of the forest, we had lost so many men that I found a buddy of mine from the battalion and he said come on back with us.  I said I couldn’t.  He said he would talk to the captain.  So he talked to the captain and my transfer came through.  I went back to the battalion.  I got off the front line. 

Now this is like getting transferred back to your living room.  You get shelled now and then, but I could live with that.  We were stationed in Clervaux.  It’s in Luxembourg right by the Belgium border.  I remember there we were enjoying ourselves. We had the wine and everything is going on there.  It was cold, wet, but it was very foggy.  On December 16, which is the day I think everybody will remember, the Germans broke through our lines.

Now we had a squad of men, which is up to 12 men, in one town, and we had a squad of men in another town, up to 12 men.  This is how we were spread out so much, that when the Germans broke through, they didn't come through our lines.  They came through between the towns, circled in back of the towns and had us surrounded.  This is how the breakthrough started.

We were one division on 35 miles.  The Germans sent against us an armored division and two infantry divisions to us where we were and another armor division up further north that went through the 112th, which is part of us too.  They just came in there and they circled us and they just kept firing.  We fired until…well the men that we were up there because remember I was back in battalion headquarters in Clervaux.

The men in Clervaux just fired until they ran out of ammunition or they were just overwhelmed that they had to surrender.  Now we got word.  I was sleeping in a bombed out building and we got word that we were moving up on line.  I said I’m back on line again.  So they took us and we went by this stream that runs around the one side of Clervaux. 

We stayed there and we dug in.  We’re staying there at about, we got up about 3:00 in the morning.  We went on line and then at about 5:00, we heard a tank coming down the road.

INTERVIEWER:   Again that screeching, howling, clanking sound.

BRADICICH:   Right, the tank stopped and the guy in the tank, and they had men on the tank too, he says, “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot.  We’re Americans.  We’re coming back to get gas.  They’re bleeding us dry up there so I got to get gas and I’ve got to get back there”.  So I said okay, come on through.  So the tank comes through.  He gets to about 50 feet and the captain says, “Halt”.  He stopped him again and he says, “What’s the password”. 

With that, all the men on the tank jumped off and started firing at us.  These were Germans.  This German who was talking to us spoke perfect English when he said don’t shoot, that they were Americans.  They came down and fired at us point blank with the 88 right down our throats.

Captain Dobbs got about six of us onto the side along with Lieutenant Gillette.  I hope they don’t mind me speaking these names, you know.  They might see this.  Anyway Captain Dobbs said he had six guys and got over to the side and we went up the hill.  There was a hill there.  We were on that hill and we could hear the firing slowing down then. 

They just overwhelmed us and they took us over.  I could hear what was going on and I knew what was going on cause I now I was a veteran.  They were gathering the guys together to march them back to Germany, the prisoners.  Those that were wounded, that could not walk, they were killing.  They were just firing.  I knew, I heard the sporadic fire and I knew exactly what was happening. 

So Captain Dobbs came back to us and said, “Okay, we have three choices.  We can attack them, but if we attack them, they will immediately shoot all our prisoners.  We could also go down there and surrender which they would march us back to the POW camp probably or we could try to infiltrate back through the enemy lines”. 

So everybody said, no, we will not surrender.  So the only option we had was to try to infiltrate back through the enemy lines.  Well we went out, took a small group, six of us.  We walked down the hill and we had to cross the road there.  So they got across the road.  The first four of us got across the road.  I was 5th and there was one guy behind me.

As I got down to the road, I heard something coming so I stopped.  We just went down on the ground and we stayed quiet to see what it was.  We found out, we came down there.  The German troops were marching down the road.  So here we are about two feet from the road, but it was still a little dark yet and there were bushes there.  So we stayed there and we tried not to breathe.

The Germans marched down right past us down to where the rest of the tank was and the rest of their men were.  When they got by, then we crossed the road and we met up with Lieutenant Gillette.  We started to infiltrate back through.  Well we made it back through the initial German line and we came to another tank that was parked in the field.  Captain Dobbs crawled up to find out whether it was German or what it was.  He came back and said no, it’s an American tank, come on. 

INTERVIEWER:   It’s in the middle of the night?

BRADICICH:   It’s dusk, just before daybreak.  It was still dark, you couldn't see really, but you could see on the horizon the sun.  So we got together with the tank and we said what can we do with the tank, can you take us back.  He said they couldn't, they were out of fuel.  So we said the Germans are coming through here now.  If we can’t take the tank back, we would have to blow it up. 

So the tank commander put a charge inside the tank, a time charge, and then we all left the tank there and we started to head towards Clervaux.  We didn't get too far when we heard the tank explode.  We didn't want to leave it, let it get into the Germans’ hands.  As we’re going, we’re passing, we get to our lines and we see the American, our guys, forming another line to stop them.

And that’s exactly what we did all the way back to Bastogne.  We form a line and the Germans come through.  Meanwhile we’re forming another line and another line, keep slowing the enemy down so we can get troops into Bastogne and stop this advance.  They were coming through in force.  There were Germans all over the place.  So we do this and we try to infiltrate back through the enemy lines and you form another line.

When they come through us, you infiltrate back through and you form another line, slowing them down all the time.  Well we finally got back to Clervaux and we’re marching through Clervaux, just marching.  There was much disarray and we were just going through to Bastogne.  As we get to Clervaux, I told Lou, Lou Klender, he was one of my buddies, he was a replacement, but I got to know him, he come through and I said, “Lou, you go through and I’ll catch up to you.  I’m going back and getting my personal stuff I left in Clervaux.” 

He said, “You’re crazy.  The Germans will be in there.”  I said that I had my personal letters there, my pictures and I had my Purple Heart there.  I didn't want to leave that for the Germans.  So I went back into Clervaux and I got to Main Street.  The place was deserted.  There was not a soul around.  I went down to Main Street and I made the right onto where I was in that bombed out building, which was across the way from the Clervaux Hotel.

I got in there and I got my stuff.  It was there, it was still there you know.  So the Germans are not there yet.  So I took the stuff and I packed in my pack and I put my pack on my back and I was going out.  I got out to the door and I see Germans coming down the street.  They saw me and they fired.  I fired back at them.  So I just fired to slow them down.  Now I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to get out of there when a German tank came down the road.

I said this is it.  So I went back into the building, the bombed out building, and I saw some guy, an old man there and he motioned to me to come follow him.  Well I didn't have much of a choice so I followed him.  He took me to the back of the building and he told me…he pointed down to the yard.  He couldn't speak English so I knew what he meant.  He wanted me to go through the backyards so I could get away.

Yes, I climbed through the backyards and I got through there and I got away and got up to my own guys again.  But it was scary in that town, firing at the infantry coming down the road and have that tank come down.  I could see him lowering his 88 right at my building where I was so I got out of there quick and got back to my lines.

Now we formed this, slowing the Germans down, one defensive line after another.  We got down to this small town, a hamlet I guess you want to call it, just a few houses there and we formed another line.  This time we had a little protection.  We fired on the Germans.  I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. 

So we’re there.  Remember, it’s damp out and it’s foggy and cold.  We’re there waiting for the Germans to come down cause we knew they were coming.  You could not see more than 50 or 100 feet ahead of you as you’re waiting there.  Then all of a sudden, you hear the clanging.  The clanging is bad when you can hear it and see it.  But now you know, you hear the clanging and you know they’re coming at you, but you can’t see them.

The clanging is louder and louder.  Then through the fog you see the tanks.  We don’t have much in the way of ammunition.  There’s no way we could have stopped the tank.  We did have a bazooka with very little ammunition.  So we’re firing at the infantry.  We get most of the infantry because these are infantry that are coming in between the tanks so we could see them coming out of the fog.  We did lower our rifles and we did fire on them.

The bazooka fired one round and it did not get a tank, but it exploded.  The tanks pulled back and the infantry pulled back.  I assume they did not know how big of a force we were.  We knew they’d be back.  Then we were waiting there again and again you hear the clanging.  It was light now, but you couldn't…light did not penetrate the fog.  That’s why we did not have any air cover. 

They came closer and closer and out of the fog, I’ll never forget that picture, you’re in the foxhole and you see the tanks coming through the fog at you and they’re firing their machine guns.  Well we fired at them and they kept on coming.  They got to about 25 feet and somebody started to run.  Well the Germans had another tank come around the side of us and he was coming right down our line where we were firing the machine guns.

Chaos happened.  Everyone started to run.  This is the first time in all throughout France and Germany that I ever saw the American army running in retreat.  Yes, we pulled back, but this was just…everybody was running every which way. 

A truck came out from behind the building and they started to go down the road, an American truck.  Let’s face it, I was with everybody else.  We all were running trying to get away from the German tanks.  I grabbed onto the back of the truck and the guy in the truck reached down for the belt in back of me and pulled me into the truck.  I was just hoping that the Germans didn't put an 88 into the truck.

This is the first time in combat like that that I really broke down and cried.  This was worse than hell.  They were shooting at us, mortars coming at us, tanks.  All we had were our rifles.  Well we got away.  We got down the road, we kept going.  We come to a crossroad.  This was behind us now.  We were heading back.  When we got to the crossroad, the Germans had the crossroads covered.

There was a German tank on the crossroad.  How they got behind us that quick, I do not know.  They fired an 88 at us.  It landed in the road.  The driver tried to swerve and he went off the road into a tree.  We were not hurt.  We climbed out, we ran onto the side.  There were some trees, like a forest.  We got into them.  There we stayed and the Germans did not come after us.  I assume they were told to just keep that crossroad, protect that crossroad.

So then we started to walk in the direction of our lines again.  Again we had to infiltrate back through the lines.  It was wet, cold and we kept going back.  After that, we met up with other regiments of Americans.  We had one lieutenant, now we were almost a squad in strength now, which is about 12 men which is a pretty good size.

We went down and there was another enemy embankment, not embankment, by the side of the road by another crossroad, they were protecting a crossroad.  All we could see there was a small truck and some Germans.  There were tanks around there.  So the lieutenant told us all right, how much ammunition have you got.  We checked around and we passed out ammunition.  Some guys had more than others.  They spread it around.

Then we attacked the crossroads.  We were firing at the enemy and we were about equal strength now because they were just there to protect the crossroads and they didn't see any Americans around.  So we fired on them and we got up to them and we killed them all.  We could not take prisoners because we were behind the enemy lines.  What are you going to do with a prisoner when you’re behind the enemy lines?

You can’t take them back to your own line because you don’t know where they are.  That was the worst part of combat.  We finished that and we had the crossroads and again we heard another tank coming down the road towards our crossroads.  Well we were no match for the tanks.  So we left the crossroads heading back to our own lines again.

We got back and we finally got back to Wilts, which is a town near Bastogne.  We got into there and that’s where General Coder was, our general, and all our officers were there.  We formed a defensive line around the city and he told us that we had to hold this until the troops get into Bastogne.  They were bringing the 101st Airborne into Bastogne to hold Bastogne. 

They needed a little more time.  Well the Germans came again, we fired on them for a little bit more.  The word came down, I don’t know why, the headquarters were moving and we were moving out with them.  Now it was all up to the 101st.  We pulled back and we were no longer under direct fire from the Germans.  I guess most of you know the rest of it.  The 101st held out in Bastogne.  They were surrounded and like the Band of Brothers says the paratroopers, they’re used to being surrounded.

Bastogne was surrounded and they were trying to get them to surrender.  Then that’s where you heard the famous word when the Germans asked them to surrender, and that’s the rest of it.  After that we were back to a camp and we got some more men, but we couldn't get them right away because most of the men were going up to stop the Germans.

We stayed there for about a couple of weeks and we got some replacements.  The fog lifted up, the Air Force came out, Patton came up from the south and we started pushing the Germans back.  I was no longer a member of that team that pushed them back cause we were depleted.  We were no longer a fighting division. 

They took us, what was left of us, they put us on trains and they sent us down to southern France to be attached to the 1st French army that was fighting in Colmar.  We went into the Vosges Mountains.  There it is again, 6 to 12 inches of snow and we had to fight the Germans in Colmar, which I believe is the last French town under German hands.  We took it, but again I was in battalion headquarters now so I felt a little bit more relieved.

I was taking a message up to the front in a jeep and the jeep driver was driving down the side of the mountain on the side of a road and across the valley on another road on the other side of the mountain, there was a German tank.  I can’t seem to get away from them.  The German tank saw us, manned his 88 and fired at us.  It landed behind us.  Well I never thought a jeep could go that fast, but he just floored that gas pedal.

We went all the way down the road and the Germans hit one or two more shells, but they landed again behind us.  That’s just about the way it was.  The Germans were taken out at Colmar and we were back up north and the Germans surrendered.  We brought occupation troops for about a couple of months in Saarbrucken, Germany.  I remember going there.

We went down the road and up the hill.  We went up the hill and on top of that hill was a brewery.  Well after everything that we went through, we all went into that brewery and we all got drunk.  Now the company’s captain was very annoyed because hey, you have a company of drunken guys.  So he said word back and another company K was up front to take over for us.  He was going to have the whole company court-martialed, but he said no.

You guys are going to walk it off, so we went on march and walked it off.  That was our penalty.  That was pretty much it.  When we came back from there, we went back to France.  In France, they were talking about points.  How many points to get out of the Army.  Well it was 85 points to get out and I added mine up, I had 95.  So I went back there. 

We went back through Paris to LeHavre I think it was and we were back on the USS General Brook.  From there we took a train down, we got a furlough and we were going back to Camp Shelby.  From Camp Shelby, we were going to ship over to California and they we were going to ship us over to the war in the Pacific.  Well I had a furlough first and I came home.

We were home and everybody was celebrating.  The war with Japan ended while I was home.  So we went back quick, went back to Camp Shelby.  Those guys that did not go back right away, they got discharged right in New York.  I had to wait another month in Shelby to get discharged, but I got discharged at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. 

It’s a long story I know, but somehow or other this gentleman got me talking and I told you a best as I could as to what it was like.

INTERVIEWER:   What did you learn from all of your combat experience and your military experience?  What are you going to tell your grandchildren?  You’re looking at them right now in the camera.

BRADICICH:   Do everything you can if you can to prevent war.  War, both sides lose.  It’s no fun killing.  Also keep a strong America.  Don’t let us be run down like we were before the war.  Before the war, my brother went in.  He was learning maneuvers with a wooden rifle.  They didn't have enough rifles.  Keep a strong America and you’ll deter a lot of war.  Don’t back away from it, but try to do everything you cannot to get into war because life is too short.

INTERVIEWER:   Thank you sir.

BRADICICH:   You’re welcome.